CEV President enjoys Berlin ‘homecoming’

CEV President Roko Sikirić somehow returned ‘home’ earlier this week as he travelled to Germany’s capital city to attend the Bundesliga season opener as well as the celebrations for 15 years since his former team, multiple national champions BERLIN Recycling Volleys, re-branded themselves as such and started contesting their home matches at the iconic Max-Schmeling-Halle, now widely known as Germany’s ‘Volleyball temple’. 

The CEV President joined two of his former teammates, Tomas Kmet and Felix Fischer, with whom he was crowned winner of the Bundesliga in 2012, 2013, and 2014. After ending his competitive career, the CEV President stayed with the BERLIN Recycling Volleys for another two years as their Sports Director, securing additional national league titles and a bronze medal from the CEV Champions League Volley Final Four held at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in 2015. The year 2016 was especially successful with as many as three titles for the BR Volleys – the Bundesliga, the National Cup and the CEV Cup – which remains their best to date.  

More than 6,000 people attended the Bundesliga season opener on Wednesday night, thereby confirming the status of Berlin as a truly major Volleyball hub, with impressive attendance recorded also at all of their #CLVolleyM home matches for many years. 

“This sort of homecoming was quite emotional and a real pleasure for me, especially since it coincides with ten years since I finished my career as a player and subsequently as a Sports Director of such a renowned club that has established itself as a real benchmark in European Volleyball. It was also a way to pay my tribute to the pivotal role that clubs play in the promotion, development and overall growth of our sport,” the CEV President said.